Shallow-water alarm



Dec. 6, 1949 P KEA-UNG 2,490,217

sHALL'ow WATER ALARM Filed Feb. 4, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 6, 1949 P. L. KEATING SHALLOW WATER ALARM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 4, '1947 f far Patented Dec. 6, 1949 UNITED OFFICE SHALLOWX-WATER ALARM PetenL, Keating, Baton-Rouge, La. Application February 4, 1947, Serial No. 726,292 3.C laim-s.` (Cl. 200,-52)

This invention relates to devices for warningofI shallow water beneath boats, the primary object of the invention is to provide a shallow water alarm which may be installed on any. small boat without extensive alteration thereof' and at small expense, and which is adjustable to warn of shallow: bottom conditions at different depths below the boat as the boat moves through rel-` atively-shallow waters.

A further object of the invention isto provide a combined alarm and indicator of the above described"4 character having` anarm extending downwardly from the bottom of the boat to yieldably engage the water bottom therebelow, and indicating means associatedwith the arm to show its adjustment to operate at different depths, and alarm means forv visually and audibly warning the operator of the boat whenever an unsafely shallow area has been reached.

Otherobjects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of` a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated; in the accompanying drawings, and in which-z Figure 1 is a side elevational; viewf of a` boat showingk said embodimentvinstalied therein, partly broken` away to show structure,

Figure 2: is an elevational View with thel oontrol' box door open, partly broken awayto show structure,

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2,-,

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectionA on an enlarged scale, takenA onthe line 4-.-4 of Figure'S,

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken4 onl the linefS- of Figure 2, and

Figure 6i is an` enlarged` longitudinal section taken through the lower end of the feeler rod, with the ground-engagingextension.k engaged therein.

Referring in detail tothe drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 9 gen,- erally designates the, illustrated alarm device in,- stalled on a motor boat it having a hully I2 and a cabin I4', thevl boat being shown moving forwardly through shallow water over anA irregular bottom i8.

The alarm device 9 comprises anl opstanding hollow tubular housing is within the` hull l2 having on its; lower end. a belled portion 2,0 registeredwith av c ,oniorrning opening 22 in the hull bottom l2 to prevent entry of water into the hull through the opening 22, The upper .end of the. housing t9. is closed4 a can, 24 rotat- 2 ably resting thereon and having a handle ZSand a pointer 28 integral therewith, the upper end ofthe housingV |-9 being located well abovethe Water line 3D; The handle 25- and pointerl 28 aremade short enough to allow them to be swung through` a complete circle: withoutl interference with an object inthe boat. The housing- 20 is supported in position by means ofa bracket `32y engaging a bulkhead 34 and encircling thehouse ing asshowrry in Figure 1.

An inner tubular casing 36` having its` upper endr threaded into the inner recess 38 ofthe cap 24, extends-loosely Ydownwardly through thehousing- I9 and has a lateral flangeY 36- onr its lower end, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, t0 engage the sides of the bell 20 and prevent the casing 3G from being drawn upwardly through the-housing I9. A rod 40v extends slidably` and downwardly through the. cap 24, through the casing 36, and has its lower end, bifurcated asl indicated at 4I toreceive the arched portion 44 of a feeler lever 4.6, towhich it is pivoted-V by a pin 42. traversing the bifurcation, thev adjacent endof the lever 46` being pivoted at 48. to one side of the bell 20 on the lower end of the housing. I9.. Thearched portion 44 of the. lever 46 movesr through slots 2 I, Zlin the.l lower end of the casing 36. A ground engaging extension 50 is threaded endwise into a recess formed in the lower or outer end of thefeeler lever 46. as shown. in Figures 1 and 6.

The f eeler lever 4.6 is movable through a vertical angle. to bring its extension 50 into. engagement with the Water bottom I8 whenever less than the desired safe minimum shallowness ob.- tains. Whenever a place is reached by the boat where less than the minimum safe shallowness obtains f or which the feeler lever 4,6 hasl been adjusted, the extension 50, and hence the lever 46 are elevated and the alarm set off. The inner casing 3B is turnable on a vertical axis by means of the'. handle 26 for` the purpose of turningv the feelerlever 4,6 in different directions.

Within: the cabin I4 a control box 52 having sidewalls 54 and a hinged door 56 is supported above the housing i9. The upper end of the rod 4D extends into the control box through its bottom 5,3, and has a rounded upper end adapted to act as a cam to engage and displace a leaf` spring. contacter 62 of a switch 63 mounted on the upper en d ci a housing 64 when the rod 40 is elevated toits highest point indicating unsafely shallow water beneath the boat, soV that the contacter 62 engages the stationary switch contact 66 and thereby closes an electrical circuit ineludine the. Wires 6.8,. and l0., the; audible, buzzer 12, the light bulb 14, and the battery 16, with whose poles or terminals the wires 68 and 10 make electrical contact by means of leaf spring contacts 18, 18.

A setting lever 80 traverses the control box 52 and is pivoted at one end to a sidewall of the control box, as indicated at 82, with its opposite end 84 projecting outwardly of the box through a vertical slot 86 formed in the opposite sidewall of the box and forming a handle. The lever 80 is pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the housing 64 by means of a pin 88 whereby the housing 64 is elevated or lowered whenever the handle of the setting lever 80 is moved between different settings indicated on a depth indicator scale 90, attached to the outside of the control box 52, the handle 84 having la pin 92 capable of being inserted in any desired one of the position holes 9| of the scale 99, tohold the lever 80 and thereby the housing 64, in positions in sizes, shape, materials, and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim: 1. A shallow bottom alarm for a boat compris-A ing a housing adapted for stationary mounting corresponding to a water shallowness at which it is desired to have the alarm operate.

The rod 40 slides through the top and bottom of the housing 64, and as shown in Figure 2, has circumposed thereon a relatively long helical spring 94, which is compressed between an upper washer |02 engaged with the top of the housing 64 and a lower washer 98. A shorter helical spring 96 in the rod 40, is compressed between a washer |04 engaged with the bottom of the housing 64 and a washer |00 on the rod 40 below the washer 98. The short spring 96 yieldably supports the weight of the rod 40 and feeler'rod 46 and counterbalances the action of the longer spring 94.

A pin 91 extending from opposite sides of the rod 40 is engaged between the washers 98 and |00, so that upon rise of the rod 40 from depressed position the spring 94 will be compressed and the spring 94 will then have the tendency to depress the rod 40 when released. By adjusting the setting of the handle 84 of the lever 80, the buzzer 12 and the lamp 14 will be operated only when shallowness corresponding to the set position has been reached, since the adjustment of the lever 80 determines the degree of water shallowness at which the switch 63 will be closed. When the pin 92 of the setting lever 80 is in any upper one of the scale holes 9| on scale 99 and the feeler 50 meets a bottom area or a `water obstruction higher than that for which the lever 80 has been set, the feeler 59 is forced upwardly toward the bottom of the boat and the spring 94 yields upwardly and permits the rod 40 to rise relative to the housing 64 and operate the contactor 62 of switch 63 to closed position and tlereby operate the buzzer 12 and the light bulb 1 The handle 26 of the cap 24 is used to turn the feeler assembly 46, 50 to the desired rearward angle before placing the pin 92 in a hole 9| in the scale 90, so as to position the feeler assembly in an out of the way position against the bottom |2' of the boat |2, when not in use. The handle pointer 28 serves to show the angulation of the feeler assembly 46, 50 at al1 times, and with said assembly trailing freely, can Show the direction in which the boat may be drifting in foggy weather, which is frequently otherwise difficult to determine under such conditions.

The spring 94 should be flexible enough to allow the rod 40 to rise freely at all times, .Vet stii enough to oiset upward pressure of the water against the feeler assembly 46, 50 while the boat is travelling at a rate of about ve .11.11185 on the boat, a control box arranged for stationary mounting on said boat above said housing, switch means in said box comprising a stationary switch element and a movable switch element tensioned away from and normally disengaged from said stationary switch element, a vertical rod supported to move upwardly and downwardly through said housing and said control box, said rod having a portion engageable with said movable switch element only in an elevated position; of said rod whereby said movable switch element is moved into engagement with said stationary switch element to close a circuit, a declining feeler arm pivoted at its elevated end to said housing and connected intermediate its ends to said rod whereby said rod is elevated from a depressed position to an elevated position to close' said switch means whenever the depressed end of said feeler arm encounters a bottom area subsisting at a higher level than the depressed end of said feeler arm and is raised above its normal declining position, setting means for said feeler arm whereby said feeler arm may be set at different declining angles so as to operate at corresponding diierent degrees of bottom shallowness, said setting means comprising a setting lever pivoted at one end on said control box; means operatively connecting said lever at a point intermediate its ends to said rod, said lever being swingable in a vertical plane to elevate or depress said rod and thereby change the declining angle of said feeler arm, and a depth indicator scale on said box with which a portion of said lever is engageable for holding said lever in a selected set position.

2. A shallow bottom alarm for a boat comprising a housing adapted for stationary mounting on the boat, a control box arranged for stationary mounting on said boat above said housing, switch mans in said box comprising a stationary switch element and a movable switch element tensioned away from and normally disengaged from said stationary switch element, a vertical rod supported to move upwardly and downwardly through said housing and said control box, said rod having a portion engageable with said movable switch element only in an elevated position of said rod whereby said movable switch element is moved into engagement with said stationary switch element to close a circuit, a declining feeler arm pivoted at its elevated end to said housing and connected intermediate its ends to said rod whereby said rod is elevated from a depressed position to an elevated position to close said switch means whenever the depressed end of said feeler arm encounters a bottom area subsisting at a higher level than the depressed x15 end of said ieeler arm and is raised above nits normal declining position, setting means for said feeler arm whereby said feeler arm may be set at different declining angles so as to operate at corresponding different degrees of bottom. shallowness, said setting means comprising a setting lever pivoted at one end on said control box,` means operatively connecting said lever at a point intermediate its ends to said rod, said lever being swingable in a vertical plane to elevate or depress said rod and thereby change the declining angle of said feeler arm, and a depth indicator scale on said box with which a portion of said lever is engagea'ble for holding said lever in a selected set position, said connecting means comprising a rigid component carrying said switch means and movable vertically relative to said rod, a rst spring component yieldably supporting the weight of said rod and said feeler arm on said rigid component, and a second spring component yieldably resisting upward movement of said rod relative to said rigid component.

3. A shallow bottom alarm for a boat comprising a housing adapted for stationary mounting on the boat, a control box arranged for sta tionary mounting on Said boat above said housing, switch means in said box comprising a stationary switch element and a movable switch element tensioned away from and normally disengaged from said stationary switch element, a vertical rod supported to move upwardly and downwardly through said housing and said control box, said rod having a portion engageable with said movable switch element only in an elevated -position of said rod whereby said movable switch element is moved into engagement with said stationary switch element to close a circuit, a declining feeler arm pivoted at its elevated end to said housing and connected intermediate its ends to said rod whereby said rod is elevated from a depressed position to an elevated position to close said switch means whenever the depressed end of said feeler arm encounters a bottom area subsisting at a higher level than the depressed end of said feeler arm and is raised above its normal declining position, and handle means carried by said housing and connected to said rod for rotating said rod and said feeler arm into positions of different angulation `with respect to the longitudinal axis of the boat.

PETER L. KEATING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 596,172 Mohs Dec. 28, 1897 '743,939 Shepard Nov. 10, 1993 1,286,155 Vallaro Nov. 26, 1918 1,286,156 Vallaro Nov. 26, 1918 2,124,497 Slauson July 19, 1938 

